I haven’t thought much about measles since I got the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine as a baby.

Have you?

Recent outbreaks illustrate the importance of returning focus to this dreadful disease however. I didn’t realize it at first, but measles is a serious disease in many parts of the world. In fact, measles is so contagious that if one person has it, 9 out of 10 people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected.

In the 1980’s there were approximately 2.6 million deaths caused by measles. Today there have been great strides in vaccinating at risk communities in developing countries, especially among children under the age of five.  From 2000 to 2012, there was a 78% decrease in measles deaths globally, and this is attributed to the more than 1 billion children that have been vaccinated.

That’s why we are supporting the Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

Vaccines that are safe, inexpensive and fast to administer have been and continue to be the keys to saving lives and eradicating this disease.

Gavi has supported countries to immunize 440 million children. The world’s poorest countries have saved 6 million lives with support from Gavi. We’re calling on world leaders to commit funds and support for Gavi.

Sign the petition and add your voice to the call.

----

Judith Rowland